Doing Sajda on a Stone?

Society Religion & Philosophy
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Hi All,

So I was at University in our Masullah area (in Syd Australia) and I saw a few girls reading namaz and doing sajda on a stone. They were from Lebanese descent. Does anybody know why they do that?

Thanks

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

shias do sajda on soil/clay that's from karbala, it's called mohr by some
they do it cause they say that it's like doing sajda in karbala, on the holy soil on which hazrat Hussein(ra) shed blood on. they never pray on the ground

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

^ then why do they pray on piece of paper when no stone? is the carpet not cleaner than the paper?!

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They follow their Islamic Shariah, just like you would follow your version. Remember there are many many different Sharias and methods.

Their sharia allows (and perhaps enforces) that they must put something (paper/clay/soil) and put their forehead on it during sajda.

Why it would be any issue with non-Shias.

We should question only the practices that are harming us or disrupting law and order in the society.

Benign practices such as using clay/stone etc. or saying loud ameen, or other little things are OKey dokey.

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

Oh I see,

Thanks for sharing that info with me.. I knew it would have some background.. I was just curious =)

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

Burqa Oh wise one, I'm just trying to increase my knowledge about others. No need to come in every thread and post your politically correct answers. Thank you.

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it's not about cleanliness. It's about what is from nature.

I also want to clear that it's not wajib to pray on the turbah. It's preferred.

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Salaam sister,

From Shariah perspective, it is reported in several hadiths that the Prophet (pbuh) used to prostrate on the ground.

Abu Sa'eed used to relate that he had seen the Prophet prostrating on wet mud, so much so that he could see mud stains on his forehead.
Saheeh Bukhari, Part I, p. 104

The Prophet used to place his forehead on the earth while prostrating.
Saheeh Bukhari, Part 1, p. 97

The Prophet declared that the best place for prostration was the earth, or upon something that grows from the earth.
Kanz-ul-Ummal, Part 4., p. 113

There are many more hadiths and proofs about this. Therefore, the followers of the Jaafari school of thought deem it necessary to perform the sajda on "earth, and on those things which are not edible nor worn, and on things which grow from earth (e.g. wood and leaves of trees)". So if one is praying outdoors then sajda can be done straight on the earth. But if a person is indoor and is unsure of the tahara of the floor then a piece of clay/sand/leaf is used to perform sajda. However, it is a common practice in Shias to carry a little clay tablet (what we call in Pakistan as Sajda-gah whereas the Arabs call it Turba) that can be taken out and used at the time of salat. Most of the times the clay used to make this tablet is sand from Karbala, land where Imam Hussain (as) got martyred with his family and companions.

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

Sorry can you elaborate about Turbah?

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Thanks for that !!

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havent heard about the paper bit, bt as jafri said it's not about cleanliness but rather about what's coming from the nature. what i have seen is that when there's no mohr, they pray on their knuckles.

however as far as i know, one should pray on the prayer mat and put the forehead on it or on the ground(not the stone/mohr or anyhting like that)

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

zainykhan, our fiqh teaches that sujud must be made on the earth or that which comes from the earth (but which is neither eaten nor worn). We are not allowed sujud on man made carpets.

As for turbah, it can be made from any form of sand as long as it is clean/paak but many prefer their turbah to be made from sand of Karbala as there are many hadiths that indicate the sacredness of this land. One of the well recorded hadith is;

Umm Salama says: I saw Husayn (a) sitting in the lap of his grandfather, the
Prophet (s), who had a red block of soil in his hand. The Prophet (s) was
kissing the dust and weeping. I asked him what that soil was. The Prophet
(s) said: "Gabriel has informed me that my son, this Husayn, will be
murdered in Iraq. He has brought this earth for me from that land. I am
weeping for the suffering that will befall my Husayn." Then the Prophet (s)
handed the dust to Umm Salama and said to her: "When you see this soil
turn into blood, you will know that my Husayn has been slaughtered." Umm
Salama kept the soil in a bottle and kept watch over it until she saw on the
day of Ashura, 10th of Muharram 61 A.H., that it turned to blood. Then she
knew that Husayn bin Ali (a) had been martyred.

[al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 398]
[al-Dhahabi, Siyar alam al-nubala', vol. 3, p. 194]
[Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa'l-nihayah, vol. 6, p. 230]
[al-Suyuti, Khasa'is al-kubra, vol. 2, p. 450; Jam al-Jawami, vol. 1, p. 26]
[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Tahdhib al-tahdhib , vol. 2, p. 346]

PS: turbah come in really handy if you are flying high in an aeroplane and wish to perform namaz!

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

[note]Off-topic posts removed.
A question was asked and very well answered by all of you.
Lets not go beyond that.[/note]

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

My comment was not off topic why was it removed ?
:smack:

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Re: Doing Sajda on a Stone?

All of the above is correct... Sajda is done on a "sijdiga" or a piece of clay from the soil of Iraq because of what Imam Hussain had to endure at Kerbala.
However, this is not the only reason. Doing sajda on a natural piece of the Earth symbolises life and death. During namaaz, the first sajda you do symbolises that we were made from clay. The second symbolises that we when we die we will go back into this very clay.
Very beautiful aspect of life and death in Islam!